Page 62 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 29

Community
blood-stained minerals, while plunging their
host countries into untold devastation and
chaos. These cycles of bloodletting in Africa
in the name of natural resources should not
continue. Enough with the deceptions and
greed.
Going beyond love for gain
How deceptive it is to love, or express love,
for the sake of getting some gains in return.
But this is what we mostly have in our
world. Relationships which are not based
on selflessness, but instead are based on
individual greed and the quest for personal
gains. Or what you can call transactional love
and relationships. These too are aspects of
the origin of evil in our societies.
In contrast, however, nothing beats the
beauty of little acts of love, kindness,
goodness, compassion, good thoughts of
hope, thoughts of goodwill towards others,
thoughts of prayers for the wellbeing
of others and of the world, etc., even in
the midst of the huge darkness that is
overrunning our world. It’s like the beautiful
mountainous country of Lesotho, completely
surrounded by South Africa. But this is
not me saying that South Africa is the evil
surrounding Lesotho, I am just trying to
paint the picture of the uniqueness of this
Mountain Kingdom called Lesotho in relation
to how powerful small actions can be when
they are done in true love.
About Lesotho
This is essentially an alpine country, where
villagers on horseback in multicolored
balaclavas and blankets greet you around
precipitous bends. The hiking and trekking
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– often on a famed Basotho pony – is world
class and the infrastructure of the three
stunning national parks continues to improve.
An astonishingly beautiful country, this
‘Mountain Kingdom’ needs to be seen to
be believed. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe,
affordable, and easily accessible from Durban
and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a
vastly underrated travel destination.
A Brief History
Lesotho was originally inhabited by local
tribes of hunter-gatherers called the Khoisan.
Later came the Bantu tribes and eventually
the Sotho-Tswana peoples. In 1822 King
Moshoeshoe I united the land under one
rule for the first time. Lesotho (formerly
Basutoland) was constituted as a native state
under British protection by a treaty signed
with the native chief Moshoeshoe in 1843.
It was annexed to Cape Colony in 1871,
but in 1884 it was restored to direct control
by the Crown. The colony of Basutoland
became the independent nation of Lesotho on
October 4th, 1966, with King Moshoeshoe
II as sovereign. For the first 20 years, the
Basotho National Party remained in power.
The country has since had changes in power
and leaders with some protests and some
unrest.
Prayer for Lesotho
In a world filled with much development
brought by much devastation of lives,
cultures, and societies, there remains a
need for those who still understand and
embrace the need for the simple things of
life in relation to love, life, culture, and
brotherhood. May you, mighty Lesotho, be